In 1998, the Arthritis National Research Foundation developed a Scientific Advisory Board comprised of world-renowned physician- and Ph.D.-scientists. Scientific Advisory Board members serve as volunteers. Most have served on this prestigious board since 1998. Why would these extremely busy scientists who have full-time careers and travel the world speaking about their work choose to serve on the ANRF Scientific Advisory Board for so many years? They serve because they are committed to the research ideas and the young scientists who conduct these studies.
“In this case, there was just no question,” says Gale Granger, Ph.D., “There’s so much serious, world-changing research going on because of what the ANRF is doing for the most promising researchers in arthritis and immunological research, that each of us felt compelled to further its cause.”
The Arthritis National Research Foundation provides grant funding to young investigators studying the causes of – and new treatments for – the many forms of arthritis, including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Osteoarthritis, Fibromyalgia, Lupus and Juvenile Arthritis.
As the annual applications for grants began to rapidly increase in number, the ANRF called upon top researchers and scientists to become members of its Scientific Advisory Board. Each year, these leaders of our industry sit down together to comb through each and every grant application. It requires hours and hours of careful study and intense discussion.
In addition to its annual charge of selecting each year’s grant recipients, the ANRF’s Scientific Advisory Board advises the Board of Directors on the trends in research and clinical treatments, and helps guide the ANRF into the future.
Here’s a look inside the most distinguished minds in the field of arthritis and immunological research:
Chair, Scientific Advisory Board
Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
University of California, Irvine School of Biological Sciences
Director, Multiple Sclerosis Research Center
Dr. Walsh is an expert in Immunology and his research focuses on the role apoptotic signal transduction plays in the development, activation and homeostasis of the immune system. He holds multiple roles at University of California, Irvine, is the Chair of the SAB and also a member of the Board of Directors.
Director of Arthritis Program
Co-Director Pathogens, Immunity and Inflammation Translational Hub
Head of Osteoimmunology Laboratory
Harvard Medical School
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Beth Israel Medical Deaconess Center
Center For Life Sciences
Dr. Iannis Adamopoulos is the Director of Arthritis program, Co-Director of the Pathogens, Immunity and Inflammation Translational Hub at Beth Israel Medical Deaconess Center, Head of the Osteoimmunology Lab and faculty of Harvard Medical School. After earning a D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, Dr Adamopoulos completed post-doctoral training in Immunology at Washington University of St Louis and at the DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif.
Senior Investigator
Chief, Pediatric Translational Research Branch
Clinical Director, National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institutes of Health
Dr. Colbert is pediatric rheumatologist whose research focuses on mechanisms of inflammation and aberrant bone formation in spondyloarthritic diseases. His studies have elucidated abnormal properties of the predominant disease risk allele, HLA-B*27, and identified the IL-23/IL-17 axis as a major contributor to pathogenesis leading to the development of IL-17 blockade as an effective treatment. As a Senior Investigator at NIH, he is in a leadership role and continues to conduct research.
Physician-in-Chief and Chair, Department of Medicine
Benjamin M. Rosen Chair in Immunology and Inflammation Research
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
Weill Cornell Medical College
One of the first researchers to study the functional properties of human dendritic cells and how their altered state plays a key role in autoimmune diseases like lupus, Dr. Crow continues to investigate the underlying triggers and mediators of autoimmunity in lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Professor & Head, Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Diseases,
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
Professor of Molecular Medicine and Medicine, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine
Betty Diamond, MD has headed the rheumatology divisions at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center. She also directed the Medical Scientist Training Program at Albert Einstein School of Medicine for many years. She is currently head of the Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Diseases at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and director of the Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine.
Chief Scientific Office, Salimetrics LLC
Dr. Steve Granger is Chief Scientific Officer at Salimetrics, LLC. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, followed by post-doctoral training at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, where his research efforts focused on the immunobiology of the tumor necrosis family (TNF) superfamily.
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
UCLA School of Medicine – Los Angeles, CA
A world-renowned researcher and lecturer who has collected numerous honors and awards, Dr. Hahn has emphasized a continuing theme of her research work – identification of immune abnormalities characteristic of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE or lupus).
Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Assistant Professor, UC Department of Ophthalmology
Cincinnati Children’s
Dr. Han’s research focuses on investigating non-invasive biomarkers and genetic risk factors of ocular inflammation, and establishing a comprehensive assessment of pediatric uveitis outcomes. She developed and validated the only measure of vision-related quality of life and function for pediatric uveitis, the “Effects of Youngsters’ Eyesight on Quality of Life” (EYE-Q) questionnaire.
Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine
University of California, San Diego
Dr. Hoffman’s main research interests are genetics and inflammation. His work has focused on the study of one of these diseases, familial cold auto-inflammatory syndrome, an inherited condition characterized by recurrent episodes of rash, fever, and joint pain following exposure to cold.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
University of Michigan
Dr. Kahlenberg is a physician scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. She completed her MD, PhD, and Internal Medicine training at Case Western Reserve University and completed her fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Michigan.
Professor
Head, Arthritis Research
Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine
The Scripps Research Institute – La Jolla, CA
Dr. Martin Lotz is Professor in the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine at The Scripps Research Institutes and in the Department of Medicine at UCSD. Research interests in the Lotz laboratory include joint biology and mechanisms of arthritis pathogenesis.
Professor of Internal Medicine
Chair of Arthritis
Rush University, Chicago, IL
Anne-Marie Malfait, MD PhD, is Professor of Internal Medicine and The George W. Stuppy, MD, Chair of Arthritis at Rush University in Chicago IL. Anne-Marie received her MD degree in 1989 and her PhD in 1994, both from Ghent University in Belgium. Her early research training focused on cartilage metabolism in osteoarthritis.
Prince Turki Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School
Chief, Division of Immunology
Boston Children’s Hospital
Director, Center for Adults with Pediatric Rheumatic Illness (CAPRI)
Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Boston, MA
Dr. Peter Nigrovic’s research focuses on understanding mechanisms of inflammatory arthritis, using both human samples and mouse models. These studies have helped to illuminate the roles played by mast cells, neutrophils and platelets, among other cell types. In studies supported by ANRF, his group identified a new pathway by which of neutrophils could be targeted to treat inflammatory arthritis, and is pursuing the role of sugars attached to the antibodies that alter their ability to engage the immune system.
Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Robert L. Satcher specializes in treating skeletal metastatic disease and soft tissue sarcoma. A former Astronaut, he served as a mission specialist visiting the International Space Station. Dr. Satcher leads MDACC’s efforts in virtual care and global oncology, aiming to establish a Cancer Center in sub-Saharan Africa. He co-founded the eHealth Research Institute, fostering collaboration between Rice University, NSBRI, and MD Anderson to enhance specialized healthcare access through research and technology.
Director of the Clinical Immunology Research Unit, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Dr. Christopher T. Ritchlin currently serves as the Director of the Clinical Immunology Research Unit at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. His research focuses on understanding bone resorption and formation mechanisms in inflammatory arthritis, with a translational approach involving biomarker identification and studying the impact of anti-TNF agents.
Professor of Medicine, Immunology and Rheumatology
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Dr. Paul J. Utz is an expert in the study of human and murine autoantibodies and autoantigens, apoptosis signaling pathways, animal models of autoimmunity, proteomics and multiplexed assay development for biomarker discovery.
Professor & Director, Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Center
Director, Laboratory of Molecular Immunology
Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute – La Jolla, CA
Possibilities and challenges are what this researcher, who currently has two important discoveries at various stages of the drug development process, seems to be all about. Dr. Ware hopes that his discoveries will help the 30 to 40 percent of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s sufferers who don’t respond well or at all to the existing TNF based therapies.
Professor
Head, Research Rheumatology
Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine
The Scripps Research Institute – La Jolla, CA
Dr. Buxbaum is head of the division of Research Rheumatology and the W. M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. His research spans more than 40 years through his time at Scripps, New York University and New York VA Medical Center. He currently serves on several rheumatology journal editorial boards and travels as a visiting lecturer.
Professor of Immunology
University of California, Irvine
When he passed away in 2018, Gale “Morrie” Granger left a legacy on the medical industry in a way that not many can. Early in his career as a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Granger received ANRF funding to study the immunological processes occurring in the tissue destruction observed in Rheumatoid Arthritis and the discovery that white blood cells could release tissue destructive molecules — eventually termed tumor necrosis factors (TNF).
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Emeritus
Stanford University School of Medicine – Stanford, CA
Dr. McDevitt was known worldwide for his contributions to the field of arthritis research. At Stanford University, Dr. McDevitt led the Immunology Department, was the director of the Clinical Immunology Lab, and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. His discoveries and successes were pivotal in the history of immunology and led him to hold a variety of positions and honors including membership in the US National Academy of Sciences, The Academy of Medicine and The Royal Society of London.
Senior Research Scientist
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Stanford University School of Medicine – Stanford, CA
Dr. Sonderstrup-McDevitt is a speaker in high demand, having been invited to universities and conferences all over the world to discuss her research work in rheumatoid arthritis. She is a former ANRF funded scientist, having received a grant in 1993, which proved to be an important milestone in her career.
Stanford University Medical Center
Dr. Elizabeth Mellins was an expert in immunology and autoimmunity to the Scientific Advisory Board. Clinically trained as a pediatric rheumatologist, Dr. Mellins devoted her career to research on autoimmune forms of arthritis, and particularly to MHC Class II molecules as inherited risk factors for autoimmune diseases. Dr. Mellins passed away in March of 2024, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to shape the lives of countless children battling autoimmune diseases.
Professor
Department of Molecular Medicine
The Scripps Research Institute – La Jolla, CA
Dr. Eng M. Tan is recognized in the world’s scientific community as a top researcher in his field of molecular medicine, earning countless awards, honors and designations. His significant contributions have led to a better understanding of lupus and related autoimmune diseases.
To honor Dr. Tan’s contribution to arthritis and autoimmune disease research, the Arthritis National Research Foundation has named a grant in his name, the Eng Tan Scholar.
Interim Division Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, Immunology
University of California, San Diego, CA
Rheumatology Training Program Director, Professor of Medicine
VA Rheumatology Section Chief
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA
Robert Terkeltaub, M.D., is the Chief of Rheumatology and director of the Rheumatology Training program at the VA Medical Center, San Diego, CA. In addition, Dr. Terkeltaub is a Professor of Medicine in Residence at the University of California, San Diego.
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